Older children are now eligible for the coronavirus vaccine in Moore County.
On Wednesday, a committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized use of Pfizerâs two-dose vaccine on children aged 12 to 15. Garner said the health department can immediately begin administering shots to the younger residents, who account for about 5 percent of the countyâs total population.
Teenagers as young as 16 have been eligible for vaccination in Moore County since March with consent from a parent or legal guardian. Matt Garner, public information officer for the local health department, said 162 high school-age students participated in vaccination clinics last month at North Moore, Pinecrest, Union Pines, STARS and The OâNeal School.
Knowing food can be scarce for Valencia County families and sometimes even harder to come by during the pandemic, local volunteers and organizations are making use of a federal program to get nutritious, fresh food into the hands of those who need it most.
On Friday, Feb. 5, a semi truck hauling 1,300 boxes of food was met by a small army of volunteers from local churches, businesses and community centers to distribute the food across the county.
The boxes come from the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, a USDA grant program that partners with national, regional and local distributors, to purchase fresh produce, dairy and meat products from American producers of all sizes.
The Moore County Health Department is calling on community leaders to help ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
OâLinda Watkins, president of the Moore County NAACP, was recently asked by the department to assist with pre-registering Black residents for vaccination, which is currently open to people aged 65 and older under the stateâs multi-phase inoculation plan. She is advising health officials to address concerns about the vaccineâs safety in marginalized communities through education.
âI donât think thereâs any problem with getting older people on board, but the younger ages are telling me they want to be more educated about the potential side effects,â Watkins said in a phone interview. âI think that education is definitely key when it comes to reaching younger people because theyâre scared. A lot of them are pointing to Tuskegee and things like that.â